Alpha Dog

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Alpha Dog
Promotional poster
Directed by	Nick Cassavetes
Produced by	Paul Ralph
Written by	Nick Cassavetes
Starring	Emile Hirsch Justin Timberlake Bruce Willis Shawn Hatosy Olivia Wilde Sharon Stone Ben Foster Amanda Seyfried Anton Yelchin
Music by	Aaron Zigman
Cinematography	Robert Fraisse
Editing by	Alan Heim
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	United States: January 27, 2006 (Sundance Film Festival) January 12, 2007 (wide release)
Running time	124 min. (Sundance Film Festival) 122 min. (wide release)
Country	United States
Language	English

Alpha Dog is a 2006 crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes, released on January 27, 2006. The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz and related events in 2000. It portrays the alleged involvement of Jesse James Hollywood, a young middle-class drug dealer in California.^[1] The film stars Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Hatosy, Ben Foster, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Anton Yelchin with Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Legal issues 4 Reception 4.1 Susan and Jeff Markowitz's reaction 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

Alpha Dog is based on events that took place in 2000 and characters are given fictional names. The film is set in November 1999. It tells the story of Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch), a young drug dealer in Claremont, California and his circle of friends, which includes Frankie Ballenbacher (Justin Timberlake), Tiko "TKO" Martinez (Fernando Vargas) and Elvis Schmidt (Shawn Hatosy). The film demonstrates internal gang dynamics and social context that contribute to the events leading to kidnap and murder.

Johnny's father, Sonny Truelove (Bruce Willis), supplies his son with marijuana, from which the son makes a fortune. Another associate of the gang is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), who owes Johnny an $800 drug debt. Johnny and his crew go to Jake's apartment to collect their money with the threat of violence. Jake is nowhere to be found; instead they stumble upon his brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) and kidnap him.

Zack makes little effort to escape. He gradually becomes integrated into their circle. Frankie offers him numerous chances to escape but Zack turns him down. The two strike up an unlikely friendship. It doesn't last because Johnny is becoming increasingly paranoid. He eventually asks Elvis to kill Zack. Elvis accepts, finally gaining the upper hand on Frankie, who has degraded him throughout the film. Zack is taken by the gang to a remote location and killed in a shallow grave dug by Elvis and a friend of Frankie's, Keith Stratton (Chris Marquette).

The epilogue shows the aftermath of the crime. Zack's mother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), is interviewed; she talks candidly about her failed suicide attempts and the loss that she has experienced from her son's murder. After being convicted, the gang members serve time: Tiko serving 9 years for the kidnapping; Keith serving at a juvenile facility until the age of 25 for digging Zack's grave and 2nd degree murder; Frankie serving a life sentence for the kidnapping; and Elvis on death row for kidnapping and murdering Zack.

[edit] Cast

Role	Actor	Real-life Counterpart
Johnny Truelove (gang leader)	Emile Hirsch	Jesse James Hollywood (convicted July 8th, 2009 of the kidnapping and murder of Nick Markowitz[2].); 20 years old at the time.
Frankie Ballenbacher	Justin Timberlake	Jesse Rugge (sentenced to life in prison, for the kidnapping of Nick Markowitz with the possibility of parole after seven years. His petition for parole was denied in 2006.) 20 years old at the time.
Elvis Schmidt (shooter)	Shawn Hatosy	Ryan Hoyt (on death row at San Quentin for the murder of Nick Markowitz; his trial took place from October 2001 to February 2003) 21 year old at the time.
Jake Mazursky (elder half-brother of victim)	Ben Foster	Benjamin Markowitz 21 years old at the time. Served 3 years in prison for robbery. Since released.
Zack Mazursky (victim)	Anton Yelchin	Nicholas Markowitz (murdered by Ryan Hoyt) kidnapped and murdered by Jesse James Hollywood and his crew. 15 when he died.
Olivia Mazursky (mother of victim)	Sharon Stone	Susan Markowitz
Keith Stratten	Chris Marquette	Graham Pressley 17 at the time. In July 2002 tried as an minor and October 2002 as an adult. Served 5 years in juvie for digging Nick's grave. 2nd degree murder. (was released from the California Youth Authority Facility in 2007)
Susan Hartunian	Dominique Swain	Natasha Adams-Young (Given immunity in exchange for her testimony) friend of Rugge, Graham, and Nick. Age 19 at the time. After reading the paper that Nick was murdered, she confronted Rugge and asked if he had anything to do with it. Despite Rugge explaining that he didn't, she knew he was lying and she told her father, a lawyer, what happened, who in turn called police.
Bobby "911" Kaye	Alex Solowitz	Brian Affronti join the crew minutes after Hollywood and his crew kidnapped Nick. 20 at the time.
Tiko 'TKO' Martinez	Fernando Vargas	William Skidmore 9 years in state prison for kidnapping and robbery out of a plea bargain. 20 at the time. Skidmore was released in April 2009 after serving 9 years behind bars for the kidnapping.[3]
Angela Holden	Olivia Wilde	Michelle Lesher, Hollywood's girlfriend. 21 at the time. Arrested for harboring a fugitive/ Hollywood.
Buzz Fecske	Lukas Haas	Chas Saulsbury Hollywood's friend. Last met during junior high. Tried to help Hollywood get out of the country. Arrested for harboring a fugitive.
Sonny Truelove	Bruce Willis	John "Jack" Hollywood Jesse James's father. Arrested in 2005, the same day son Jesse James was captured in Brazil, for manufacturing the illicit narcotic GHB[4], but the charge was later thrown out in court. Jack remained in custody on an outstanding 2002 warrant for a marijuana-related charge, and later received 18 months in a Arizona prison.[5] Since released.
Wanda Haynes	Heather Wahlquist	Ben's fiancée
Julie Beckley	Amanda Seyfried	Nick's girlfriend. 17 at the time.
Pick Giaimo	Vincent Kartheiser	Chasely Shaeen, Hollywood's friend. His vehicle was used in the murder of Nick Markowitz. Arrested then bailed out. 20 at the time.
Cosmo Gadabeeti	Harry Dean Stanton	John Roberts, Jesse James's godfather, and Jack's best friend. His van was used in the kidnapping of Nick Markowitz.
Det. Tom Finnegan	Holt McCallany	Officer looking for Hollywood and arrested his crew as well as interviewed witnesses.
Sabrina	Charity Shea	Kelly Carpenter (given immunity in exchange for testimony) Rugge's girlfriend. 16 at the time.
Alma	Amber Heard

[edit] Legal issues

During filming, Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ronald J. Zonen provided copies of many documents on the case and served as an unpaid consultant to the film, citing his desire to have Hollywood captured. Zonen prosecuted Hollywood’s co-defendants and was poised to prosecute Hollywood. After Hollywood was returned to the United States, his defense lawyer claimed there was a conflict of interest, and the California Court of Appeal for the Second District ruled on October 5, 2006 that, based on Zonen's disclosure of the files and consultant service—he should be recused from further involvement in prosecuting Hollywood.^[6][7] On December 20, 2006, the California Supreme Court granted review on the case effectively staying the order to recuse Zonen.^[8] On May 12, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that Zonen should not be recused.^[9] Nonetheless, Zonen was replaced with Joshua Lynn, who is serving as lead prosecution attorney.

In addition, Hollywood's attorney James Blatt tried to block the release of the movie.^[10]

After the delay, Hollywood's trial officially started Friday May 15 2009 with the defense's opening statements saying Hollywood was not involved with the murder.^[11] In his opening statement, Santa Barbara County Deputy Dist. Atty. Joshua Lynn described Hollywood as "a ruthless coward."^[12] On July 8, 2009 he was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder with special circumstances for which he can face the death penalty.^[13]

[edit] Reception

During its opening weekend, Alpha Dog grossed $6,412,775 and was in 7th at the box office.^[14] The film closed on February 22, 2007 after grossing $15.2 million domestically, and totaled $30,774,935 worldwide over its six-week release.^[15]

The film has received mixed to positive reviews with a 56% rating on rottentomatoes.com,^[16] the consensus being, "a glossy yet unflinching portrait of violent, hedonistic teenagers. Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone chew the scenery, while Justin Timberlake gives a noteworthy performance." Up-and-comer Anton Yelchin is praised as "able to bring all of the conflicting emotions of Zach," and conveying all of it beautifully.^[17]

Alpha Dog was released on DVD on May 1, 2007. It includes a DVD/HD DVD combo package where both forms are included in one box. DVD sales gathered $12,324,535 in revenue from 743,035 units sold.^[18]

[edit] Susan and Jeff Markowitz's reaction

Susan Markowitz has attempted to commit suicide 3 times.^[19] Jeff Markowitz elaborated, "She is so tortured by what happened that she has tried to take her own life. The last thing that either of us want is to see this picture. How would any loving parent feel about a Hollywood movie that glamorizes their son's death and allows celebrities to cash in on a brutal, evil murder?"^[20] Nonetheless, Susan Markowitz attended the film's release and reportedly was moved by Anton Yelchin's portrayal of her son. After the screening she embraced Sharon Stone, who played her in the movie.^[21]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Alpha Dog at the Internet Movie Database
• Alpha Dog at Rotten Tomatoes
• Alpha Dog at Metacritic
• Alpha Dog at Box Office Mojo
• Alpha Dog at Allmovie
• Fstge Movie Guide

v • d • e Films directed by Nick Cassavetes Unhook the Stars (1996) · She's So Lovely (1997) · John Q (2002) · The Notebook (2004) · Alpha Dog (2006) · My Sister's Keeper (2009)